James Tissot  

Brooklyn Museum 

MY NET WORTH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C] is, “My Net Worth.”

Before we die, do we look at our life - the life we lead - and make a judgment on our net worth?

How do people standing there in the funeral parlor or sitting there in the church judge us when we die?  What do they see we netted in our life?

What are those who do our obituary and those who give our eulogy - trying to say about our life - and how they see our net worth?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Simon Peter says to Jesus, “Master we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

And we all heard this morning in the gospel of Luke that they went out to the deeper waters and lowered their nets and caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

We heard that they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats - so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

And when Simon Peter sees all this he falls at the knees of Jesus and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

And everyone that day was astonished and Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

And they brought their boats to shore - left everything - and followed Jesus.

Is this the story of life? Sailing through life - lowering and then lifting and then lowering our nets and then lifting them to see what we caught - what is our net worth?

I think Jesus did some deep thinking about sorting out what we are catching in our nets - and making significant switches in our life as we cross the waters of life - in what we [Cf. Matthew 13:47-48]

CLEMENT JEDRZEWSKI

Whenever we read today’s gospel at Mass, I think of a man named Clement Jedrzewski.

He told me he went to Paris for his University - at the Sorbonne. He was a young man - all alone - and that first month there he saw a notice on a bulletin board about a retreat for young men at a retreat center.

The retreat was given by a famous French Dominican priest, Pere Redinald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange. The first talk began with the reading of today’s gospel Luke 5:1-11.

Then Pere Lagrange paused and looked out at all of us young men and said, “Your whole life is front of you. Launch out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch.”

That memory, that story, today’s gospel, is what triggered my thoughts for this homily.

Clement told me that became his goal in life!

As I look at my nets, I see all the many people whom I caught in my nets. I think of all the people I have met. I think of all those who influenced my life.

So that’s why I see a man named Clement Jedrzewski when I hear this gospel read.  

He was an old man when I met him in the early 1970’s. He was retired and living in a spare room in a retreat house on the Jersey Shore - a place called Stella Maris - Elberon, New Jersey.

I’d say morning Mass there at times and I’d meet Clement and we would chat while enjoying breakfast. He didn’t have a car so I’d bring him shopping now and then. He was from Warsaw, Poland - got his degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris. He worked in a branch of the United Nations or some group like that. He was a poet. He was also  a Sociology Professor for years at St. Francis College, Brooklyn New York. What I became interested in was his theories of how to teach - how to teach future teachers.

Since I was doing high school retreats just up the road at our Retreat House,  I asked Clement how he would give a high school retreat. It was from Clement I learned the value of questions.

He would say, “Everyone has questions. You have to find them out. Teachers, preachers are always answering questions people are not asking.”

This morning are you asking what have you caught in your nets - your life? Are you asking, “How have I changed as life goes on?”

Clement  taught me to ask people on retreat to jot down on paper all their questions they have right now. He’d add, “Say there are no stupid questions only stupid answers.”

Then he said, “First - starting with each individual,  ask the folks on retreat to write down all their questions and then narrow them down to three?”

Then he said, “Put your questions in your pocket and ask everyone to sit with just one other person and jot down all your questions you’re both asking and then narrow them down to 3.”

Then he said, “Put all those questions in your pocket and ask everyone to sit in small groups - but make sure they are people, kids, others, you regularly hang with. Write down all your questions and then narrow them down to three.”

This took a bit of time, but it was worth it.

Then he said, “Have everyone do this as the large group making the retreat - and then narrow down your questions to three?  There now you have three questions from the whole group and that’s the retreat material.”

It was hard work, but it has stayed with me for life.

I stand here in the pulpit, Mass after Mass - knowing you have questions and you might not hear anything about your questions. Sorry.

At least I know that and we both hear the scripture readings - and I wonder what questions they might trigger in your minds and lives.

Today I’m asking, “What are you trying to catch? What’s your net worth so far?”

FURTHER QUESTIONS

In today’s first reading from Isaiah, we have the story of a man who went to the temple and he had a God experience.

Evidently, one of his top 3 questions in life was “What is God like?”

And he’s knocked off his moorings with a God Experience. He hears the words we say at every Mass, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts. All the earth is filled with his glory.”

Then he has the same experience Simon Peter has in today’s gospel: he feels his sinfulness compared to God’s greatness. He puts his hand to his lips realizing the unclean words that come out of his mouth. Then God, the King, the Lord of Hosts sends an angle with burning ember, that he had taken from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips and his wickedness is removed, his sin is purged.

Then he hears a question from God. Is it one of God’s three questions, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”  And Isiah says, “Here I am. Send me.”

Is one of my three life questions,  “What does God want me to do? Do I have a calling?”

Are we all like Paul in today’s second reading - who had to dump - empty out of his net - his whole fanaticism about life - and religion can make fanatics of us all. Then on the Road to Damascus he had his God, his Jesus experience, and then he went from there trying to catch people in the net called Jesus.

CONCLUSION   

Heavy duty stuff  - this religious stuff - and there are so many more questions. Ash Wednesday is this week. The first Sunday of Lent is next Sunday. Lent is a good time to get hooked by questions. What are yours?

This week reflect on the image of nets. Think of your networks. Think of your net worth.

A of the key feelings you’ll get if you do this is the feelings of unworthiness - sinfulness. You’ll be hit by regrets - as well as unfinished business.

Relax God is a God of Mercy - forgiveness - and God is a fisherman - trying to catch us in his nets. 

Relax. We’re fish - you know that’s a key Christian Symbol. Each letter of the Greek word for fish - ichthus - stands for a title for Christ. "Jesus Christ - Theos [God] -  Uios [Son]  Savior."

Fish is part of our Lenten heritage. And sometimes fish stink. And sometimes fish make a great meal. Is that the story of our life? Become delicious fish.  Become a great meal for others.